Mantiri affair a test of RI-Australian relations

Mantiri affair a test of RI-Australian relations

By Meidyatama Suryodiningrat

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's withdrawal of Lt. Gen. (ret.) H.B.L.
Mantiri as ambassador to Australia marks a low in the up-and-down
relationship between Jakarta and Canberra and comes at a time
when relations were at a very high point.

On Thursday Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas
announced the withdrawal of Ambassador Mantiri and said the post
would be left vacant indefinitely.

While observers said yesterday that the incident was
regrettable, coming as it did just when relations between the two
countries were at their best, they also expressed hope that the
ties have reached a point at which the damage can be quickly
mended and the Mantiri affair will not be more than a minor sore
point in long-term relations.

Legislator Krissantono told the Jakarta Post that he feels
both Canberra and Jakarta would not allow the overall situation
to get out of hand, since a weakening of relations would be
detrimental to the overall stability of the region.

Being neighbors, he argued, both countries have a mutual
interest in maintaining cordial relations.

He acknowledged that the episode had made relations "uneasy",
but maintained that the conscious efforts made by both sides in
recent years would limit the fallout.

Krissantono laid emphasis upon the very good rapport between
President Soeharto and Prime Minister Paul Keating in support of
his view that the Mantiri chapter was not likely to precipitate a
marked deterioration in relations. This particular strength, he
said, had been lacking in previous years.

Political scientist Juwono Sudarsono said Thursday's decision
to withdraw Mantiri reflected wisdom on Soeharto's part in
understanding the pressure Keating was facing at home over
Mantiri's appointment.

Preventive

Indonesia could have persisted with the appointment but it
knew things would only get worse as a result, Juwono said.

Krissantono also regarded Jakarta's move as a preventive
measure to allow relations to continue to blossom in the future.

"Our government can understand the relationship between the
Australian government and its people," he said.

Nevertheless, he said that the decision was an "emotional" one
intended to be "a lesson to the Australian government and people
that, as sovereign states, we should mutually respect each
other."

"The incident should be a point of reflection for them."

Mantiri's withdrawal adds to the long list of incidents and
misunderstandings that have plagued the two nations over the past
decade.

Without the high level of amicability forged in the past four-
years, this latest incident could have seen a repeat of the 1986
low point spurred by an article published in the Sydney Morning
Herald which Indonesia found demeaning to Soeharto.

The article prompted the cancellation of a visit of State
Minister of Research and Technology B.J. Habibie to Australia and
all other high delegation visits and a blanket ban against all
Australian journalists in Indonesia. At one point, Indonesia also
abruptly canceled the visa-free facility for Australians,
requiring hundreds of Australian tourists who were flying to
Indonesia at the time of the decision to wait at airports before
being sent home again.

The two countries have since worked hard to build their
relations on the basis of mutual respect and greater mutual
understanding.

The year 1991 marked an important year, with Paul Keating's
ascendancy to Prime Minister. Keating assertively underlined his
foreign policy intentions when he said "no other country is more
important to Australia than Indonesia."

Since then, there have been minor spats but as Alatas has said
that he and his Australian counterpart Gareth Evans will not let
relations be harmed by partial comments or incidents.

Legislator Theo Sambuaga stressed that relations can only be
fostered when both sides display sensitivity towards the other.

Theo, who is Indonesia's representative to the Inter-
Parliamentary Union (IPU), contended that Mantiri's withdrawal
exemplified Jakarta's sensitivity towards the demands being
placed on the Keating government.

Krissantono concurred with Theo's, but argued that,
conversely, Indonesia should also take into account Canberra's
considerations for an ambassador.

Despite stressing that Indonesia should have full sovereignty
in the matter, he said that "their considerations should be
weighed carefully."

An often cited point of contention is that Canberra's
preference for a civilian Indonesian ambassador there.
Krissantono feels that the issue of a non-military officer is
rather contrived and intended to focus attention on the issue of
East Timor.

Australian specialist Ikrar Nusa Bhakti seemed to point to
Mantiri's withdrawal as a mature move aimed at furthering the
long term friendship between the two countries.

"There's a possibility the withdrawal of Mantiri's nomination
was an Australian request, although it was not done in the open,"
the researcher from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences said, as
quoted by Antara.